Perspective
Socialism Will Continue to Rise Regardless of Election Results
Even if the 2018 midterm elections seemingly produce a blue wave, non-traditional candidates will continue to rise as Bernie Sanders has injected socialism into national discourse.
If the Democrats take back the House in Tuesday’s midterm elections, there will be a palpable sense of relief for millions of people horrified, and terrified, by Donald Trump. But hopes that a “blue wave” can erase the stain of the presidency on U.S. politics seem almost naïve.
An emboldened right-wing is willing to tear up all the rules of the game. A timid Democratic Party is barely mounting a challenge, with its leader in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, displaying only the wannest of enthusiasm for bold policy proposals that enjoy majority support such as a “Medicare for All” healthcare plan. This confluence of aggression and accommodation is driving a new factor in U.S. politics: the dramatic growth of socialism.